


The Crystal

by OcyDarling



Category: Skyrim
Genre: Skyrim - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 08:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3603633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OcyDarling/pseuds/OcyDarling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elorya, a mage with nothing, is on a quest to find a crystal within an abandoned Nord crypt</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Crystal

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first thing I've posted here. This was a writing for my creative writing class so I thought I'd post it here to see if anyone else would enjoy it as well!

This had to be the most dreadful idea she had ever had in her life. Elorya had many awful ideas in her young life as well. The lock finally clicked and she pulled her lock pick out of the lock, placing them back to her sides. The door was pushed opened slowly, but it didn’t help from the squeaking of the ancient door. The freezing temperatures were no help in the door either. The snow in front of the door had it frozen to the floor. It stopped half way, but it wasn’t enough for Elorya to get through. With her small frame, she took all her body weight and threw it into the metal door. The door finally gave and pushed opened with an awful metal against stone grinding noise. It caused her to tumble onto the stone floor, rolling a few times before she finally stopped. 

A combination of dirt and snow were all over her robes. When Elorya finally got herself settled she noticed there was a torch lit on the wall nearby. Someone else was here. This wasn’t good. They had to know she was here now. The ruins of the old and forgotten civilization was crumbling, but very quiet. That noise from the door definitely carried through the structure. Her dagger was pulled out from her belt that was tied tightly around her waist. If the dagger failed her she had a few spells up her sleeve. 

This ‘structure’ was more of a cave than anything. Years had past since people lived in the structure that things had deteriorated. Ivy twisted all over the stone walls. She wondered how this place looked when people used it still. Sad really. So much history completely forgotten by most. That wasn’t what was important. The woman stepped lightly, trying not to trigger any ancient traps or recently placed traps on the stone floors. As she continued down the narrow hallway, more torches were seen lit. Someone was here or had been here. Whatever the case, she wasn’t dying here. 

The next room was a huge expansive room that one would never expect from something underground. Elorya looked over the edge of the ‘staircase’ that led all the way down to the bottom. A fall from this height would kill her. It was dark down there, very dark and the stairs didn’t look very safe, but she was going to take her chances. What was down there was something of value and she wanted it. 

She took care as she stepped, hand against the wall as if the rocky surface would actually help her if the steps broke out of under her feet. She was more concerned of an ambush than the stairs. The stair groaned every time she made her way down them. As long as none of them cracked and popped she was safe. The further she got down, the less light there was. Thankfully she knew an illuminating spell. With her free hand, a small orb of light floated in her hand as she traveled downwards. 

Yet that change in pace was a bad idea. A step cracked under her foot and this caused her to start running down these stairs. She was nearly almost to the floor when she tripped and rolled down the stairs, hitting each one on her way down. 

She woke up cold and wet. Why was she cold and wet? When she figured out her surroundings it seemed that she was at the bottom of the huge room. Water must have leaked in and had been sitting still on the floor. She sat up, pulling her hood down from her head, exposing her scarred face. They ran down the left side of her face, curving at her cheekbone to stop at her ear. It was burn scarring, blinding her in the left eye. Pink and angry looking. She’s had it since she was a child. Magic had always been in her blood and it came to her at a young age. Young Elorya thought it had been a good idea to play with her untrained gifts. The Fire spell she had cast backfired, scarring her for life. She kept herself covered in public, ashamed of the scar and not liking the stares she got from the other people, but that didn’t matter now. No one was here to stare. 

Elorya struggled to stand, joints popping as she did. How long had she been out? Elorya’s ribs ached. Everything ached, but her ribs and her head were The door in front of her was pushed open roughly. She wasn’t in the mood to care who was down here or who was not. Water splashing up as she walked, soaking the bottom of her robes. She was already wet on the back it didn’t matter. This hallway should be it and the room ahead was where crystal was to be. If it wasn’t she was going to be one very angry mage. 

A chain was to her right when she came upon a door that seemed to be sealed shut. These ruins were very complex in design despite the age. Her hand reached over to pull down on the chain. A lot of her weight was put into it until she heard something groan above her and the door started to disappear into the stone floor. The floor rumbled as the door slowly went down. She wasn’t going to wait for it to finish going all the way down. With all this rumbling there had to be a chance the hallway falling down behind her. Not a risk she was going to take. 

Up the stone stairs and there was the crystal. It was across a stone bridge sitting in a beautiful metal fixture. It held it in the light that was coming through the ceiling, making it shine. The frown on her face disappeared quickly and it was replaced with a smile. Finally. She got what she came for. Elorya slowly walked across this stone bridge, careful of traps or it breaking on her. She wasn’t in the mood for a second fall. 

As she crossed, she glanced down seeing a torch at the bottom of the room. By that torch was whoever was in here before to get that crystal. Face down, dead in their own blood. The bandit must have fallen and his skull cracked open on impact. At least that problem was taken care of. These places normally smelled of death, but at least she knew the source now. 

Here it was. Her goal was reached. The mage bent down, inspecting the structure that was holding the crystal. There seemed to be no traps inside of the metal, but something concerned it. There wasn’t much security for something this valuable. Even if this was a building older than herself there would have still been something. Standing back up, a sigh escaped her lungs. That sigh echoed in the room, stayed for a few moments. “You better be worth whatever is about to happen.” Her sleeve was rolled up, reaching out for the crystal. The moment it was removed all hell broke loose. 

Sand was pouring out of new foamed openings. She cursed under her breath as she shoved the crystal in the pouch on her side. Sand. Great. Just had to be sand. Elorya kept as calm as she could. Panicking wasn’t the best to do right now. The cavern below her was starting to fill with sand, slowly climbing to where the bridge was. Luckily enough her eyes caught a door that seemed to blend with the wall. 

It was behind the pedestal, but she was going to have to jump down. 

The mage hesitated on the edge. She had one chance. Backing up, she went into a sprint, well as best as she could with pain moving up through her hip from her fall, and jumped once she reached the ledge. She fell onto the sand, breaking her fall somewhat, but it still hurt causing her to cry out in pain. There was a lever to pull down beside the door, which she scrambled to grab and pull down, using all her weight yet again to make it pull down. She fell back onto the sand when it came down and the door threw itself open. Now she was panicking as she and the sand poured in through the doorway. 

The sand wasn’t going to stop. She got up and climbed up the stairs, using her hands as support for a few of the stairs before being able to gain balance of herself on her two feet. She better make it out alive or she was haunting her contact for this stupid crystal. 

Once up the stairs and out another doorway that seemed to have opened when she pulled the lever. When she went through the doorway, she realized she was at the entrance. She was alive. Bruised up and out of breath, but alive and was going to be a lot richer now. The mage limped out the doorway and pulled her hood back up. Her spotted horse was still there, eating some of the grass that came up from under the snow. The wind was awful, but at least the two of them would be out of here soon. 

This was her life, stealing rather than doing good with her magic like her mother had. Life as a petty thief was how she lived and she wasn’t ashamed. Everyone had their ways to live and this was her way. Magic wasn’t appreciated as it was when her mother was alive. That’s why she wasn’t alive. Magic was seen as taboo. That was many years ago and she had no more tears to shed over this any longer. 

The small woman climbed up onto her horse with some struggle, but was out on the road soon after. A smile on her face and the crystal hitting her thigh softly as the horse bounced. The Crystal of Amalia was hers and she was going to make sure it was going to someone that would appreciate it.


End file.
